Abstract
This paper presents an exploration of the (pre)conditions in which local energy transition initiatives operate in the city of Groningen, the Netherlands, and to what extent these conditions influence the co-design process. The findings show that participation in such schemes is not necessarily a given, as local initiatives and (design) practitioners can encounter several interrelated issues, which must be taken into account before even considering a co-design approach to the energy transition. Informed by insights from the social research studies conducted, the initial design-centred approach was altered to incorporate (co)design in a more flexible and iterative manner, inspiring new ways to collaborate.
Keywords
codesign, design and social innovation, citizen participation, energy transition
DOI
https://doi.org/10.21606/drs.2022.290
Citation
Tjahja, C. (2022) Setting the stage: The value of contextual social research when designing with local sustainability initiatives, in Lockton, D., Lenzi, S., Hekkert, P., Oak, A., Sádaba, J., Lloyd, P. (eds.), DRS2022: Bilbao, 25 June - 3 July, Bilbao, Spain. https://doi.org/10.21606/drs.2022.290
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
Conference Track
Research Paper
Included in
Setting the stage: The value of contextual social research when designing with local sustainability initiatives
This paper presents an exploration of the (pre)conditions in which local energy transition initiatives operate in the city of Groningen, the Netherlands, and to what extent these conditions influence the co-design process. The findings show that participation in such schemes is not necessarily a given, as local initiatives and (design) practitioners can encounter several interrelated issues, which must be taken into account before even considering a co-design approach to the energy transition. Informed by insights from the social research studies conducted, the initial design-centred approach was altered to incorporate (co)design in a more flexible and iterative manner, inspiring new ways to collaborate.